men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Luke 21 : 25, 26.
By the “sea and the waves roaring” reference is no doubt made to the great ocean disturbances and tidal waves which during the last few years have caused such loss of life and property, and so much comment and widespread alarm. As says Harper’s Magazine: “That most horrible phenomena, the tidal wave, how many struggling mortals has it swept back into the deep! What countless ships has it crushed against the shores! What mighty cities has it plundered of life and wealth, strewing their streets with ocean sand, and peopling their palaces with sea monsters!”
The accounts given of some of these tidal waves are graphic and thrilling, but more startling and terrible must they have appeared to those who witnessed or felt their fury. A357writer in the journal named above thus describes his experience:—
“I saw the whole surface of the sea rise as if a mountain side, actually standing up. Another shock with a fearful roar now took place. I called to my companions to run for their lives on to the pampa. Too late; with a horrible crush the sea was on us, and at one sweep dashed what was Iquique onto the pampa. I lost my companions, and in an instant was fighting with the dark waters. The mighty waves surged and roared and leaped. The cries of human beings and animals were frightful.”
The British Vice Consul gives the following account of a similar scene he witnessed at Arica:—
“Gracious God, what a sight! I saw all the vessels in the bay carried out irresistibly to sea; anchors and chains were as pack thread. In a few minutes the great outward current stopped, stemmed by a mighty rising wave, I should judge about fifty feet high, which came in with an awful rush, carrying everything before it, in its terrible majesty, bringing the shipping with it, sometimes turning in circles, as if striving to elude their fate.”
The New York Herald, in speaking of the tidal disturbances at St. Thomas, says the waves were fully fifty feet high, and moved at the rate of one thousand miles an hour, with a roar that was exceedingly frightful.
The Scripture says that the “sea and the waves roaring” shall constitute a sign of the end. It will be noticed in the quotations given above that almost the exact words of Scripture are employed in the descriptions given of the tidal disturbances. Unconsciously and doubtless unknowingly these writers duplicated in their account the words of the prophetic prediction. This duplication of terms may be a mere coincidence, but the startling events described must be looked upon as presaging speedy changes in the history of the world, as predicted by the prophecy. The poet Cowper thus speaks of these indications and their portent:—
“The world appears
To toll the death bell of its own decease;
And by the voice of all its elements,
To preach the general doom. When were winds
Let slip with such a warrant to destroy?
When did the waves so haughtily o'erleap
Their ancient barrier, deluging the dry?
Fires from beneath and meteors from above,
Portentous, unexampled, unexplained,
Have kindled beacons in the skies. The old
And crazy earth has had her shaking fits
More frequent, and foregone her usual rest;
And nature seems with dim and sickly eye
To wait the close of all.”
As thoughtful men regard these increasing phenomena and signs—war, famine, disease, and fearful unrest in the social and political worlds, and unaccountable spectacles in the world of nature—they are led to ask the question, What may we next expect? As says the Scripture, their “hearts [are] failing them for fear and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth.”
We are living in portentous times. The very air pulsates with danger. The very foundations of our social, political, and natural worlds seem shaking. This earth presents an unsafe place for refuge from the coming storm of wrath. There is no refuge, no security outside of the great Creator. Christ’s coming will quell the rage of battle, and above old ocean’s roar will be heard once more that same voice that stilled Galilee’s wild tempest, saying, “Peace, be still.” Yes, peace will that glad day bring to the righteous, but anguish and distress to the wicked and impenitent. The picture is both bright and darkly foreboding.
Reader, is Christ your Saviour to-day? Has he spoken peace to your soul? Do you rest in his love, and rejoice in the prospect of soon greeting him in glory? If you do, then the ravages of disease, the din of battle, or the roar of old ocean’s turbulent waters, need not alarm you. If you are hid in Christ, he will preserve his own. The earth may be removed, and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, but you will stand, upheld by his mighty hand and shielded in the bosom of his love. But if you know him not, fearful to you will be the day of his visitation. While mercy pleads, follow her gentle drawings. Soon shall her voice be hushed; and, if unprepared, the cry will go up from your sin-burdened heart, “Too late, too late.” Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. To-day mercy’s gate is open; enter while opportunity is afforded.
GOD IS LIGHT.
By G. S. Honeywell
BY G. S. HONEYWELL.
THE apostle tells us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” He is a pure light. He is the Source and “the Father of lights” in the physical as well as in the spiritual world. In Dan. 2:22 we read that light dwelleth with him, that is, light inhabits the throne of God and he dwells in it (1 Tim. 6:16), and it is distributed by divine investment throughout the starry expanse. This thought is brought out in Job 25:5: “Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.” Light is the servant of the Lord and the companion of his word; he said, “Let there be light, and there was light.”
The stars which shine with such brilliancy are not pure lights, but only reflect light from their source, the throne of God, as the moon does from its source, the sun. Astronomers tell us that the sun shines with 600,000 times the brightness of the moon. But notice the change which is to take place in these orbs of light, as foretold in Isa. 30:26. In the new earth state the moon is to shine with the brightness of the sun. Its brilliancy will be increased many thousand times; but the sun will only shine with seven times its present brightness. The sun does not preserve its present ratio of brightness in comparison with the moon.
Let us examine the Scriptures a little further and see if we can discover a reason for this remarkable change. In the twenty-first chapter of Revelation we read that, in the Eden to come, Christ’s throne and tabernacle shall be here upon the earth; “and the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for . . . the Lamb is the light thereof.” You will notice that the moon is relatively near the earth, and when Christ’s throne of glory is established on the earth, the moon becomes a luminary of surpassing brilliancy, evidently because of its close proximity to the throne of Christ. In view of these facts, is it at all strange that when our Saviour died on Calvary, the earth trembled, and the sun bore witness to him as its Creator and Source of light, by putting on the garb of mourning for its dying Lord? Matt. 27:45, 51.
Our God is a prophetic light, for “in him is no darkness at all.” In every sense Christ is the light of the world, and without him we grope in darkness at midday. The future is the secret of the Almighty (Dan. 2:28), but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7), and through this means he maketh known to his people what shall be in the latter days. His revealed word is “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path;” and by it we are enabled to walk in the freshness of the morning light of unborn history.
The Lord is a spiritual light, penetrating the darkest clouds of unbelief. “The Lord is my light, and my salvation.” He is that light which bringeth salvation. As before stated, light is the servant of God, and the companion of his word. This companionship is so sacred that light will not go where the word is rejected. How important then that the world have an opportunity to hear the word pure and simple! So the Lord says: “He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” Jer. 23:28, 29.
Christ is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. “Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth,” is the kind invitation. By steadfastly gazing into his face, we become changed into the divine image. As we draw near to the Lord by living faith, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, we become a light by reflection that cannot be hid. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 5:16. In this manner we are to be the disciples of Christ, walking in the light and bringing forth much fruit to the glory of God. As the receiving of God’s word brings light, and the light salvation, so in like manner the rejection of the word brings darkness, and that darkness death. Christ said of the Jews, “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15:9. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20.
Let us follow the light into the perfect state, and notice what are some of its effects upon the children of God in the Eden to come. We are told that “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Col. 3:4. When Christ appeared on the mount of transfiguration, “his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light,” for he received glory of the Father. And when Moses came down from the presence of the Lord, his face reflected the glory of the Lord so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold him. But in the world to come, the Eden restored, the righteous “shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and . . . as the stars forever and ever.”
Akron, Ohio.
Repentance Before Conversion
"You cannot get converted without first repenting scripturally, nor can you get sanctified unless you are first converted."
Keep Thy Heart
“KEEP thy heart with all diligence.’ What more beautiful than a frank, open-hearted boy or girl, who keeps nothing from father or mother! This close confidence between parents and their big boys or girls is one of the finest things this side of heaven. It indicates pure hearts on both sides; and the parent who enjoys this confidence may thank God and take courage.”
OVERCOME AS CHRIST OVERCAME.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"FORASMUCH then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted."
The world's Redeemer passed over the ground where Adam fell because of his disobedience to the law of Jehovah. The only-begotten Son of God came to our world as a man, to reveal to the world the fact that men through divine power could keep the law of God. Satan, the fallen angel, had declared that no man could keep God's law, and he pointed to the disobedience of Adam as proving the declaration true. But the Son of God placed himself in man's stead, and passed over the ground where Adam fell, and endured temptation stronger than ever was or ever will be brought to bear upon the human race. Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan in the same manner in which every tempted soul may resist the evil one. He referred the tempter to the inspired record and said, "It is written." Christ overcame the temptations as a man, by relying solely upon the word of God; and every man may overcome as Christ overcame.
We need not place the obedience of Christ by itself as something for which he was particularly adapted, because of his divine nature; for he stood before God as man's representative, and was tempted as man's substitute and surety. If Christ had a special power which it is not the privilege of a man to have, Satan would have made capital of this matter. But the work of Christ was to take from Satan his control of man, and he could do this only in a straightforward way. He came as a man, to be tempted as a man, rendering the obedience of a man. Christ rendered obedience to God, and overcame as humanity must overcome. We are led to make wrong conclusions because of erroneous views of the nature of our Lord. To attribute to his nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, is to destroy the completeness of his humanity. The obedience of Christ to his Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan's temptations except as divine power works through humanity. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what God in his own divine person could do, but what he could do through humanity. Through faith man is to be a partaker of the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset. It was the Majesty of heaven who became a man, who humbled himself to our human nature; it was he who was tempted in the wilderness and who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself.
We are not to serve God as if we were not human, but we are to serve him as those who have been redeemed by the Son of God and through the righteousness of Christ we shall stand before God pardoned, and as though we had never sinned. We shall never gain strength in considering what we might do if we were angels; but as obedient children we are to turn in faith to Jesus Christ, and show our love to God through obedience to his commands. Jesus "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Jesus says, "Follow me." "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Jesus leads the way. Do not wait and continue in disobedience, hoping circumstances may change, making it easier for you to obey. Go forward, for you know the will of God. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
The Garden of Eden, with its foul blot of disobedience, should be carefully compared with the Garden of Gethsemane, where the world's Redeemer suffered superhuman agony when the sins of the whole world were rolled upon him. Listen to the prayer of the only-begotten Son of God, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." And the second time he prayed, saying, "O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." And the third time he prayed, saying the same words. Oh, it was here the mysterious cup trembled in the hands of the Son of God! Shall he wipe the bloody sweat from his agonized countenance and let man go? The wail, wretchedness, and ruin of a lost world will up before him. "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him."
The conflict is ended. Jesus consents to endure the curse of sin. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Here we see what was involved in Adam's disobedience, and what the obedience of the Son of God means to us. Adam did not consider what would be the consequences of disobedience. He did not set his mind in defiance against God, nor did he in any way speak against God; he simply went directly contrary to his express command. And how many to-day are doing the very same thing, and their guilt is of much greater magnitude, because they have the example of Adam's experience in disobedience and its terrible results to warn them of the consequences of transgressing the law of God. So they have clear light upon this subject, and no excuse for their guilt in denying and disobeying God's authority. Adam did not stop to reckon what would be the result of his disobedience.359
With the after sight we are privileged to have in this age, we can see what it means to disobey God's commandments. Adam yielded to temptation, and we have sin and its consequences laid distinctly before us. Reasoning from cause to effect, we see it is not the greatness of the act of disobedience which constitutes sin, but the fact of variance from God's expressed will in the least particular, for this is a virtual denial of God, a rebellion against the laws of his government. The happiness of man is found in obedience to the laws of God. In obedience to God's law he is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. No man can depart from God's specified requirements, and set up a standard of his own which he decides he can safely follow, and still find peace and joy. Were each one left to follow his own way, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds, and the government would be taken out of the Lord's hands, and man would grasp the reins. The law of self would be erected. The will of man would be made supreme; and the high and holy will of God would be dishonored, disrespected. To what extent man would choose to follow the promptings of his selfish heart it is impossible to tell. But whenever man chooses his own way, there is controversy between the man and God.
CHRIST AND THE SABBATH.
By I. E. Kimball
BY ELDER I. E. KIMBALL.
A VERY common argument urged against the keeping of the Sabbath according to the commandment is that we must build no fires, nor pick up sticks, etc., etc., according to the requirement of God upon ancient Israel. So they say, "We cannot do this," and consequently release themselves from keeping the Sabbath.
But are not such hasty in so summarily setting aside the commandment? Let us see. The commandments and every word of Scripture were in force when Christ, the Great Teacher, came among men. He lived the Scriptures, and taught the Scriptures, as he desired every man who ever lived to do and teach them. He was "the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John baptized unto repentance, and Christ came to him for baptism. But John forbade him, knowing his holy life and that he had nothing to repent of. Christ rejoined, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." He desired in this, as in everything else, to take every step his disciples were required to take.
But did he keep the first day of the week?—No. Now as he fulfilled all righteousness, and requires us only to follow in his steps, are we required to keep it? Did he keep the Sabbath, which came, as we read, on the day before the first day of the week? Matt. 28:1. We answer, with all assurance and positiveness. He did. But here some equivocate, and decide, with the hypocrites of old, that Christ broke the Sabbath. And this same class declare, as stated above, that if we keep the law we must not have fires, etc.
In the twelfth chapter of Matthew we find the Jews accusing Christ of Sabbath breaking. According to their conception of Sabbath keeping he was a Sabbath breaker; but was his their conception of it true?—No; for Christ said they had "condemned the guiltless," and declared his work on that day to be lawful. Now whatever is lawful is fully accordant with law. He illustrates the nature of his work by asking his accusers, "If a sheep should fall into a pit, would you not pull him out?" "Oh, yes!" "And will you not loose your ox and lead him away to watering?" "Oh, yes!" "Why?" "Oh, the sheep was suffering, dying in the pit, and the ox was suffering for want of water!" "Well, here is a woman whom Satan has bound in infirmity and suffering, lo, these eighteen years; shall I not loose her?"
He addressed these accusers as hypocrites, and evidently they were. But what shall we say of those to-day who ply the same argument? The suffering sheep may be saved, the suffering ox may be released from his suffering, and it is all lawful, according to the strictest terms of God's law; but the poor souls of to-day, suffering, yea, even freezing to death, must not build a fire. No one may build one for him; he must suffer on. The law says you must not cook, but here comes in a starved wretch, weak and hungry; no, you must not prepare anything for him. But if Christ interpreted the law correctly, all this quibbling is unlawful. To build a fire or do what is necessary to alleviate suffering is lawful, for the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. But if fire is unnecessary, as was in the case of Israel in the wilderness, then it would be just as sinful to build it now as then.
THE THREE WATCHWORDS.
To watch, to wait, to work;
Ah me, the fiery sun,
The level, treeless, barren, dew-drained fields—
I would the work was done!
To watch, to work, to wait;
Ah me! the tedious roar
Of wreck-strewn oceans overroofed with clouds—
I would the watch were o'er!
To wait, to work, to watch;
Ah me! thou absent Friend,
Comest thou quickly? So thou saidst. I would
The waiting had an end!
My soul, be still and strong.
Sight follows after faith
In all advancement of the true and good;
He cometh as he saith.
My soul, be still and strong.
Here on thy Lord's estate
No place is useless, no experience vain;
Work on, watch on, and wait.
—Examiner and Chronicle.
THE FAITHFULNESS BEHIND GOD'S PROMISES.
By C. H. Edwards
BY C. H. EDWARDS.
How GOOD the Lord is to give to us, poor, doubting children that we are, so many assurances of his willingness and power to do for us all that we need. He does not give these proofs because they make the promises more sure, but he does it that our faith in his ability to fulfill them may be strengthened. He does it so that we, when in our weakness we doubt him, and, like Peter, begin to sink beneath the billows of life, might look about us, and see the evidence of his power, and the pledges he has made to use that power in our behalf. With this in view, let us read: "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth." Isa. 40:26. As we obey this command, and "lift up our eyes," and "behold . . . these things," what will we see? Let the following description tell us:—
Go with me to yonder "lighthouse of the skies." Poised on its rocky base, behold that wondrous tube which lifts the broad pupil of its eye high up as if gazing instinctively into the mighty deep of space. Look out upon the heavens and gather into your eye its glittering constellations. Pause and reflect that over the narrow zone of the retina of your eye a universe is pictured, painted by light in all its exquisite and beautiful proportions. Look upon that luminous zone which girdles the sky,—observe its faint and cloudy light. How long, think you, that light has been streaming, day and night, with a swiftness that flashes it on its way 12,000,000 of miles in each and every minute? How long has it fled and flashed through space to reach your eye and tell its wondrous tale? Not less than a century has rolled away since it left its home. . . . Place your eye for one moment to the tube that now pierces that seeming domain of night, and, lo! 10,000 orbs, blazing with light innumerable, burst on the astonished sight. . . . Look once more. The vision changes; a hazy cloud of light now fills the field of the telescope. Whence comes the light of this mysterious object? Its home is in the mighty deep, as far beyond the limit you had vainly fixed,—10,000 times as far,—as that limit is beyond the reach of human vision. And thus we mount, and rise, and soar, from height to height, upward, and even upward still, till the mighty series ends, because vision fails, and sinks, and dies.
One more description:—
We come to the nearest portion of that vast congeries of stars which we denominate the Milky Way, composed of not less than one hundred millions of suns, and of such vast proportions that light flashing at the rate of 12,000,000 miles in a single minute, could not cross its deepest range in less than ten thousand years. Leaving the milky way and plunging yet deeper into space, we find other milky ways, grander, and more populous in stars even than our own, until at last our telescopic ray extends so deeply that its length . . . fails to plunge across any other mighty depth, and we stand wondering and awestruck on the very threshold of infinitude.
Reader, how many of those shining worlds, think you, there are? "The host of heaven cannot be numbered." Jer. 33:22. Yet, as said above, our Heavenly Father "bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power." It does not take all his wisdom and power simply to number and name those glorious orbs, but he keeps them all in their places, so that "not one faileth." The following will give some faint idea of the care he has over his creative works, so they do not fail:—
Should the rotation of the earth on its axis be increased by five seconds of time in twenty-four hours, all the time keepers in all the watch towers of the world would proclaim the fact; all the stars would fail to keep their appointed meridian transits, and would, in sympathy with the great orbs of light, linger in their nocturnal march. The bursting out in the heavens of a thousand fiery comets in a single night could produce no such mortal terror to the astronomer as this failing backward of the mighty sphere of the starry universe for one single second in twenty-four hours, for it would speak the doom of the universe in announcing that God's right arm was growing heavy, and his omnipotent will was beginning to stagger under the weight of 10,000,000 of rolling worlds. Should such an event ever occur, . . . when the astronomer shall wistfully look through "optic tube" for the coming of the faithful star which, prompt to the thousandth of a single second, has traversed his meridian, and, lo! the star lingers in its journey, seconds ebb slowly away and merge into minutes, and at last the star appears, no matter if with its wonted beauty, the astronomer stands aghast, and well may he tremble, for the powers of the heavens are smitten, and God is deserting the universe which sprang into being at his divine command. Human confidence and faith would be gone forever, and no remedy could avail to rectify the wrong.
BOTH THE SABBATH AND SUNDAY OBSERVED BY CONSTANTINE.
By Editor
IN many a history of the Christian church and in treatises on the "Sabbath" we find the Edict of Constantine ordaining that on the "venerable day of the sun" the magistrates and people residing in the cities should rest, and all workshops should be closed, but not one of these modern writers tells us that this same Constantine ordained that the Sabbath should also be observed in the same manner as the Lord's day. Yet, if the writer will look at Eusebius De Vita Constantini ("Life of Constantine"), book 4, chap. 18, page 263, et seq., of the edition published at Leipsic, 1830, he will find written in Greek the words which, translated, may be correctly rendered as follows:—
"And he [Constantine] also decreed that it was fitting to observe as a day of prayer the day which is truly the first and chief of days, which is really the day of the Lord and Saviour; and deacons and ministers consecrated to God by him, men orderly as to gravity of life and every virtue, were appointed guardians of his entire household; and spearmen, trusty body guards, equipped with habits of good will and with faith, were instructing their imperial master in pious ways, they themselves in no less degree honoring the day of the Lord and Saviour and on them [i. e., these days] offering prayers which were pleasing to the emperor.
"The blessed one [the emperor] urged that all men should do likewise, he being earnestly desirous that he might by gentle means cause all men to become God fearing. Wherefore, he exhorted all those who were living as citizens under the Roman Government to be at leisure [for all Roman citizens to rest] on the days named after the Saviour, and in like manner to honor the Sabbath days also, in order, as it seems to me, that they might call to mind what had been done on these days by the Saviour of all.
"And while instructing all of the soldiers to honor diligently the day of the Saviour, which is also called the day of light and of the sun, he granted leisure to those who held the inspired faith to devote themselves, without hindrance, to the church of God, that they might offer up their prayers without any interference."
Eusebius is often called the "Father of Church History," and words like the above, written by himself, are certainly entitled to great weight. They prove conclusively that, as late as the time of Constantine, who died 340 A. D., Sunday observance was not substituted for that of the Sabbath; for the Sabbath was also honored in the same manner as was the Sunday. These words of Eusebius are also in harmony with those of Socrates, another church historian, who wrote more than a century later, and who says:—
"For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries [the memorial of the last supper] on the Sabbath [seventh day] of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebias, hold their religious meetings on the Sabbath, but do not participate in the mysteries."
With these facts before them, facts which no scholar will deny, we ask our readers to inform us when the apostolic change of the360Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week took place. Gradually?—No. There was no thought—there could have been no intention—to substitute the one for the other till long after this time. Let modern writers or pulpit orators say what they will, no more authoritative words can be found than those we have quoted. Facts are stubborn things.—The Outlook.
Happiness When the Sun Does Not Shine
"UNTIL we have learned to be happy when the sun does not shine, we are not truly happy persons."
Personal Application to God
"EVERYONE who wants to be saved must make application in person to God through Jesus Christ."
Think More and Talk Less
"THINK more and talk less, and more will be said that is worth hearing. 'Let every man be slow to speak.'"
JESUS AND THE PROMISES.
By Spurgeon
“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” 2 Cor. 1:20.
JESUS, our Lord, stands forever connected with the way of the promise. Only as we know him do we know the light, life, and liberty of the heirs of promise; and, as sorely as we wander from him, we roam into bondage. Oh, for grace to abide in him, that we may possess all the good things of the covenant made with us in him!
The Gate of the Promises.
Through him the Lord is able to enter into gracious engagements with guilty men. Until “the Seed of the woman” had been appointed to be the Mediator between God and man, no messages of comfort could be sent to the offending race. God had no word for sinners till the Word of God undertook to be made flesh, and to dwell among us. God could not communicate his mind of love to men except through Jesus, the Word. As God could not come to us apart from the Messenger of the covenant, so we could not approach to him except through the Mediator. Our fears drive us away from the Holy One till we see in the Son of God a Brother full of tender sympathy. We come to God through the humanity of his Son, and especially through that humanity suffering and dying on our behalf.
The Sum of All the Promises.
When God promised his Son to be ours, he gave us in him all things necessary for our salvation. Every good gift and every perfect gift will be found within the person, offices, and work of our Redeemer. All the promises are “in him.” If you would add them up, or make a long catalogue of all the blessings which they secure to us, you may save yourself the pains, and be happy to know that this is the full total—the Lord has given us his Son Jesus. As all the stars are in the sky, and all the waves are in the sea, so are all covenant blessings in Christ. We cannot think of a real blessing outside of our Lord; he is all in all. On this thread all pearls are strung; in this casket all gems are contained.
The Guarantee of the Promises.
He that spared not his own Son will deny nothing to his people. If he had ever thought of drawing back, he would have done so before he had made the infinite sacrifice of his only-begotten Son. Never can there be a suspicion that the Lord will revoke any one of the promises since he has already fulfilled the greatest and most costly of them all. “How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
The Confirmer of the Promises.
They are “in him yea, and in him Amen.” His coming into our nature, his standing as our federal Head, and his fulfilling of all the stipulations of the covenant, have made all the articles of the divine compact firm and enduring. Now is it not only kind but just with God to keep his promises to men? Since Jesus has rendered, on man’s behalf, a full recompense to the divine honor which sin has assailed, the justice of God unites with his love in securing the carrying out of every word of promise. As the rainbow is our assurance that the world shall never be destroyed by a flood, so is Jesus our assurance that the floods of human sin shall never drown the faithful kindness of the Lord. He has magnified the law, and made it honorable; he must be rewarded for his soul travail, and therefore all good things must come to those for whom he died. It would be an unhinging and dislocation of all things if the promises were now to become of none effect after our Lord has done all that was required to make them sure. If we are indeed one with the Lord Jesus Christ, the promises are as sure to us as the love of his Father is to him.
The Remembrancer of the Promises.
He pleads with God on our behalf, and his plea is the divine promise. “He made intercession for the transgressors.” For the good things which he has promised the Lord will be inquired of by us that he may do them for us; and that this inquiry may be carried out under the most encouraging circumstances, behold, the Lord Jesus himself becomes the Intercessor for us; for Zion’s sake he doth not hold his peace, but day and night he makes remembrance of the everlasting covenant, and of the blood whereby it was sealed and ratified. At the back of every promise stands the living, pleading, and prevailing High Priest of our profession. We may forget the faithful promise, but he will not; he will present the incense of his merit, and the engagements of God on our behalf, in that place within the veil where he exercises omnipotent intercession.
The Fulfiller of the Promises.
His first advent brought us the major part of the blessings which the Lord has foreordained for his own, and his second advent is to bring us the rest. Our spiritual riches are linked with his ever adorable person. Because he lives, we live; because he reigns, we reign; because he is accepted, we are accepted. Soon, at his manifestation, we shall be manifested; in his triumph, we shall triumph; in his glory, we shall be glorified. He is himself the Alpha and the Omega of the promises of God; in him we have found life as sinners; in him we shall find glory as saints. If he be not risen, our faith is vain; and if he come not a second time, our hope is a delusion; but since he has risen from the dead, we are justified; since he will come in the glory of the Father, we also shall be glorified.
Reader, what hast thou to do with Christ? All will depend upon thine answer to this question. Dost thou rest alone in him? Then the Lord has promised to bless thee, and do thee good; and he will surprise thee with the amazing manner in which he will do this unto thee. Nothing is too good for the Father to give to the man who delights in his Son Jesus.—Spurgeon.
HOW TO BE HAPPY.
O CHRISTIAN young woman, if you would make yourself happy, and win the blessing of Christ, go out among the destitute! A loaf of bread or a bundle of socks may make a homely load to carry, but the angels of God will come out to watch, and the Lord Almighty will give his messenger hosts a charge, saying, “Look after that woman; canopy her with your wings, and shelter her from all harm.”
And while you are seated in the house of destitution and suffering, the little ones around the room will whisper, “Who is she? Ain’t she beautiful!” and if you will listen sharply, you will hear dripping down through the leaky roof, and rolling over the rotten stairs, the angel chant that shook Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will to men.”—Sel.